The Chevrolet Corvette, a Sportscar legend and a vehicle Classic for ever, has somehow survived inflated insurance rates ; every kind of inane and incomprehensible safety legislation and engine pollution add ons. The Chevrolet Corvette has been universally accepted as the measure of a high-performance sports auto. Automobiles are temporary, new model of automobiles appear and vanish and yet the Corvette lives on. No car has been able to cover as many sides of the high-performance sport as the Corvette. The flexibility of this fantastic automobile has appealed to all age groups and has kept the ownership of a Corvette, a most distinguished thing.

The Corvette has gone thru many changes in its lifetime, including each custom and hot rod trend going. It has a miracle the Corvette has stayed a true high performance sports vehicle and did not grown up into a two plus two sedan as did Ford’s Thunderbird. The Corvette was in the on the beginnings of the fast car era. In the mid 50’s people wanted fast autos, and by 1957 the Corvette was leading the pack. Hot rodding owes a giant debt to the Corvette ; it was in charge of just about all higher performance parts ever to come from Chevrolet. Four speed transmissions, twin quad intake manifolds and hot solid lifter camshafts.

One of the massive contributions to the Corvette’s success story was the variety of options that were offered. Ever since 1956, there had been the choice of the standard of high performance automatic transmission. Each car could be tailored into a semi competitive race car of a good day by commuter by just choosing the right options. The Corvette could play either role very well.

Performance was the trend in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. One of the largest controversies of the day was which was faster – a Corvette with twin 4 barrel carbs or one with fuel injection.

Corvette owners were purchasing the high-performance versions and putting them to good use at weekend drags and the amateur road events. There were metallic brake and sway bar options for the sporty set. And although the suspensions system was a conglomeration of early passenger car parts, the low center of balance and near equal weight distribution made these autos handle well. The 50/50 weight distribution did not hurt the drag racers one bit either, and they won more than their share.

When 1963 occurred, it brought with it a real change in the Corvette. The new body style called the “Sting Ray” was not available in a fastback version commonly called a “coupe” and in the conventional roadster version with a removable hardtop. The Sting Ray had much cleaner lines than its forebears and even featured retractable headlights. With the change in body style, the suspension was vastly improved with a new independent rear suspension assembly and updated steering gear. It still had the performance of the older cars, including the Rochester fuel injected 327 cubic inch engine, rated at 360 horsepower.

The Chevrolet Corvette is definitely an Yankee Sportscar Classic.

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